Surfing
Surfing
Discover 10 big wave surfing clips that will never get old
Want to see big-wave surfers doing their thing and taming some of the most intimidating breaks in the world? Then you've come to the right place.
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If there's one thing we truly love, it's a high-octane clip of the world's best big wave surfers doing their thing. We suspect that you feel the same so we've put together a rundown of some of our favourite recent big wave surfing videos. These quick edits from Cortes Bank and Mavericks to Jaws, Tahiti and Nazaré will have you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.
01
Cortes Bank is big wave surfing's final frontier
18 min
Twenty Foot Plus: North Pacific
The world’s best big wave surfers chase a cool new swell from Waimea to Jaws, Cortes Bank to Todos Santos.
When a massive winter storm flared in the North Pacific, the world’s best big wave surfers chased monstrous waves from iconic Oahu's Waimea Bay to perfect Jaws in Maui, then across the North Pacific to unruly Todos Santos in Mexico, and finally out to the mythical Cortes Bank, 100 miles off the coast of California.
While most humans get tired just reading that list, Izzi Gomez, Lucas Chianca and Andrew Cotton all filled their boots with big wave memories, while Justine Dupont turned in a career session at Cortes Bank, with a potential spot in the Guinness World records the result of her incredible efforts.
02
Teahupo'o goes XXL to kick off the 2023 swell season
10 min
XXL Teahupo’o waves
Enormous waves see the world’s best big wave surfers drawn to Tahiti as the 2023 southern swell season opens.
Autumn in the Southern Hemisphere is when swell trains wake from their summer slumber and start to roll out of the Southern Ocean. According to Surfline guru Nick Carroll, this body of water is "the world’s greatest swell machine". Building up steam and whipped into a frenzy by strong winds, these swells don’t stop until they hit land, or in the case of Teahupo’o, in Tahiti, a shallow reef shelf that rears rapidly from a deep seafloor, creating some of the world’s wildest waves in the process.
Proving this point, in April 2023 the fishing village of Teahupo'o was broadsided by one of the biggest swells seen in years. Kai Lenny, Kauli Vaast and Lucas Chianca were just two of an army of the world's best big wave chargers who assembled en masse to meet the enormous seas head on, and the Twenty Foot Plus edit above is the spectacular result.
Sadly Teahupo'o was flooded with rain in the aftermath, but with the local community as strong as the waves that lash their coastline, and huge support from around the world, the rebuilding effort was immediate and as successful as could be hoped.
03
Life Of Kai tackles the same Teahupo'o super swell
20 min
Strike
Kai Lenny goes on a 24-hour strike mission to Tahiti and pushes the limits of what’s possible in the ocean.
Enjoy the Twenty-Foot Plus edit above? You're going to love the Life Of Kai's take on the same swell. Zigging where the rest of the world zagged, Kai Lenny and co. find themselves scoring away from the masses, in that special way that only Kai can deliver.
04
Lucas Chianca's Last Two Winters edit will leave you in awe
18 min
Lucas 'Chumbo' Chianca
Join Brazil’s Lucas 'Chumbo' Chianca as he tackles the biggest waves on Earth across two memorable winters.
Brazilian charger Lucas 'Chumbo' Chianca is fast making a name for himself as one of the world’s most fearless and skilled big wave surfers. While he was born and raised in Saquarema, best known as one of the WSL Championship Tour’s high-performance stops, Chumbo has caught the global eye on the strength of his game when conditions go rogue, as seen in this latest instalment of My Last Two Winters.
The edit above sees Chumbo show off his skills in Nazaré, Portugal, Mavericks in California, Tahiti, and then Praia do Norte in Nazaré, Portugal, where we see Chumbo claim yet another trophy alongside his partner-in-XXL, Kai Lenny, as Team Young Bulls once again clean up at the WSL’s Nazare Tow Surfing Challenge.
Hidden in plain sight, Lucas Chianca claws the walls and aims for an exit
© Domenic Mosqueira
For Chumbo, surfing is about much more than trophies, and this edit is a tribute to his dedication to his craft. Press play above to look inside Chumbo’s wild world, and enjoy our interview with him HERE.
05
Cloudbreak serves up serious size as No Contest comes to town
25 min
No Contest: Julian Wilson hits Fiji
Julian Wilson heads to Fiji: 330 islands, 500 islets, thousands of villages and the friendliest culture.
After stepping away from the WSL Championship Tour, Julian Wilson joined the No Contest crew as they headed to Fiji to meet local legend Tevita Gukilau and learn a little more about one of surfing's favourite island nations. While the team were aiming to score waves, the enormous swell that rained double-overhead tubes on the assembled throng of barrelriding maestros was a wild but very welcome surprise.
06
Justine Dupont is on a collision course with the record books
33 min
à la folie
Strap in for the ride of your life as we follow surfer Justine Dupont through a ground-breaking big wave season.
When it comes to big wave surfing one woman stands head and shoulders above the rest: Justine Dupont. While you might know the French surfer – who now lives in Portugal – as a two-time winner of the Nazaré Tow Challenge and the recipient of numerous XXL Awards across all categories, there is much more to the strong natural-footer than just being someone who shines in heavy water, as her latest biopic "à la folie" details beautifully.
"It’s nice to be recognised as one of the best big wave surfers in the world, for all sorts of reasons," says Dupont. "I’ve dedicated myself to Nazaré, to big waves, and it makes me feel like I’m doing the right thing. Being recognised means that I can follow my dreams, and follow the storms and the waves I want to surf.
Hit play on the video above to enter the world of Justine Dupont, then read our full length interview with her HERE.
07
The Mavericks swell of 2021 was one for the ages
9 min
Mavericks host the world's best big wave surfers
After years of quiet, California's Mavericks unleashes huge waves for the world's best big wave surfers.
Kai Lenny, Justine Dupont, Lucas Chumbo and Ian Walsh join an elite group of big wave surfers for one of the heaviest days that California's premier big wave, Mavericks, has seen in years.
08
Opening day, Jaws 2020
8 min
Big wave winter opening day at Jaws
The first week of December ushers in huge, clean conditions at Jaws, Hawaii’s premiere big wave.
As the first swell of the winter hit Maui, a collection of the world's best big wave riders, including Hawaiian heroes Kai Lenny, Ian Walsh and Billy Kemper, kicked-off their seasons in size, as their beloved Jaws came alive.
09
Hurricane Epsilon whipped up a Nazaré frenzy in 2020
6 min
Hurricane Epsilon swell in Nazaré
The Nazaré big wave season kicks off with a bang as Hurricane Epsilon brings a historic swell to the shore.
When Hurricane Epsilon brought a historic, potentially record-breaking swell to the world's top big wave, Nazaré, Andrew Cotton, Kai Lenny, Justine Dupont, Lucas Chumbo and more showed up for the waves.
10
Conor Maguire rides the biggest wave of his life, at home in Ireland
2 min
Conor Maguire surfs huge waves off Mullaghmore
After a tropical storm sent historic 60ft waves crashing into Mullaghmore, the Irish surfer took his chance to ride the swell of a lifetime.
A combination of freakish Atlantic currents and travel restrictions ensured Conor Maguire was able to enjoy a private audience with Mother Nature at home in Ireland that he won't soon forget. Thrill to Conor surfing 20m swells in his own backyard in the video above.
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